고려 고종 37년 全州牧에서 조성된 「妙法蓮華經」의 조성시기 재검토와 판본의 성격 - 祇林寺 대적광전 소조비로자나불 복장전적 권7의 사례 -

Abstract

Prior researches and reports on the prints of the Lotus Sutra (妙法蓮華經) woodblocks preserved at Girimsa Temple (祇林寺) introduced several academical fallacies pertaining to its engraving period and the number of printed volumes. Existing studies maintain that these Buddhist scripture woodblocks were created during the year 1370 and were printed as a single-volume. In order to revise these problems, this study constructed three logical research methods. First, it thoroughly analyzed Girimsa Temple’s the Lotus Sutra woodblocks’ printing from the physical bibliography perspective. Second, it minutely observed the unique publication date of these woodblocks which does not illustrate Chinese era name. Third, the historical fact that human resources (刻手) mobilized from Goryeo Daejangdogam (高麗國大藏都感監) and Bunsadogam (高麗國分司都監) during Jeongju-town (全州牧)’s Buddhist woodblocks’ engraving business was used as a core barometer to pinpoint the precise date of this woodcutting. This particular historical material related to these engravers was offered by Dong-A University’s Seokdang-Hamjinjae (石堂函珍齋) which conserves Korean and Chinese antique documents. In short, these carvers such as Hye-Yi (恵耳) and Han-Pyeong (漢平) were the key determining the accurate production period as well as the nature of these woodblocks. Girimsa Temple’s the Lotus Sutra woodblocks’ printing needs to be closely re-examined in a bid to revise the academical mistakes made by previous scholarly journals. These errors hindered this masterpiece receiving its true historical and cultural value. Therefore, this paper’s main purpose is to provide reliable bibliographical sources to the academic future generations based on objective historical evidence.